SPOTLIGHT: Astrid Tuin

Each week we will be picking members to spotlight to tell their Alzheimer's story and why they are running in this year's New York City marathon. Check in each Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday for new updates on who will be spotlighted and get to know your teammates...(each person is picked at random)

I’ll be running the NYC Marathon this year in

memory of my grandmother Annie who passed at the end of 2008 after suffering from Alzheimer’s for several years and to thank my grandfather Jan for taking care of her in such a loving way. My family lives in the Netherlands; I moved to the US in ’04, so I wasn’t around very much to witness the progression of this horrible disease. But the mere fact that at times she would think my grandpa (whom she was married to for over 50 years) was an “evil cousin” is just so sad and a terrifying example of what Alzheimer’s impact is on one’s brain.

In 2009, I also ran the NYC marathon for a charity, the Boomer Esiason Foundation (BEF), which was a great experience: the fundraising efforts & reaching my fundraising goal, plus running the marathon itself with so much support from friends, BEF, and the cheering crowds. It didn’t matter I had missed my finish time goal by a couple of minutes. When considering running the marathon this year, I decided I wanted to run for a charity a little closer to my own heart, and I’m very excited that I was selected to be part of Team Run 2 Remember.

I find that in order to raise funds, I need to increase my knowledge of Alzheimer’s, and have started doing so. Even though it’s not uplifting to read about how quickly the disease can progress, and that there is currently no way to stop or reverse progression, it’s good to know that scientists are getting closer to identifying causes and potential cures every day. I’m grateful to have a chance to help raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research by doing something that I love, running. One way I’m trying to reach people is through my blog, on which I write about fundraising, training, racing, and Alzheimer’s: www.astridnycmarathon2011.com.

When I was younger, running was never of much interest to me, but over the past 3-4 years, I’ve gotten into it much more. Since last year, I’ve become totally hooked on triathlons, which provide just a bit more variation and speed than running by itself. I’ve done a fair amount of running and triathlon races of different distances, but the NYC marathon coming up in November of this year will be by far the most important and meaningful one yet!